Tormalena

The river ran backwards on the day the queen vanished. It was a breathtaking and terrifying sight to see. The sky turned black as huge dark clouds blotted out the suns light completely. They resembled rain clouds but these were different. They didn’t move with the strong wind gust, they hovered over the town of Orchid sending it’s villagers rushing outside to stare up into the noon sky that looked more like midnight. It was so dark you couldn’t see your hand if you held it up right in front of your face.

I was on the river bank teaching a group of little ones how to catch fairy bugs. I quickly rounded up the group and sent them inside to the safety of their families. I only noticed on the way back out to the bank that the river was not moving in it’s usual way. It wasn’t moving at all. It resembled more of a huge pond then our usual raging river. The clouds started to part exposing the suns rays once again. As the last of the black clouds receeded, Nymph River came back to life but not moving eastward as it usually does. The river raged again but moving to the west. I was awestruck as the first of the warning bells began. The intrusive tolling of the gigantic bells at the entrance and exit jolted me back to my body and out of my head.

A moment later a pain hit my heart like I’d never experienced before. This couldn’t be happening. I just saw her last night before I returned to my home beneath the surface. My worry instantly jumpstarting my legs. I ran like my life depended on it and it did. She was my life and she gave me life. I was moving fast darting in between terrified villagers, trying to comprehend what was happening but I knew. Queen Opal had told me the stories from the elders as a child. I could hear her voice in my head as I closed the distance to her royal home, Mount Sirena. “We live forever as long as we live here. When a royal leaves the sacred place of Orchid, it becomes unstable marked by the river running backwards. If this ever happens Orchid is in grave danger….”, my mothers voice trailing off in my head.

As I approach Mount Sirena the guards are moving about frantically searching the grounds. My cousin Seathras calls out for me as I approach the entrance. Her waist length fiery red hair whipping in the wind.

“Princess Tormalena, quick the general has been looking for you!”

I’m paniced and can barely form the words that I speak, “Where is she?”

Her eyes answer me before her mouth opens, “No one has seen her since last night.”

“What do you mean? She has to be here! No one can enter the castle undetected.”

“I know but she’s not here Lena.”, she used my nickname that only my mother and her use for me.

She followed me as I head undeterred to the enormous staircase leading upstairs to the royal suites. I lift my ankle length maxi dress as I start to take the steps two at a time. Seathras is in her usual three inch heels and cannot keep up with my pace. I know she said that she’s not here but I can’t stop now. It’s like I have to see it for myself before I can stop moving. I’m halfway down the first hallway before Seathras reaches the top of the stairwell. I’m down the second hallway even quicker then the first. Sound has stopped for me and my focus is only on the task at hand for fear of losing it completely. I’m on autopilot now as I push through the golden doors of the master suite to find it vacant. It still smelled of her but the queen, my mother was gone.

General Lazul enters the suite instead of Seathras as I expected. He’s all business and his eyes read much more. Standing at seven foot, he looks down on mostly everyone. Even though he’s distinguished, his muscular frame and resting mean face, lets anyone willing to take him on, think twice.

“Have you spoken to the Queen?”, he begins to question me.

“No, not since last night when I was here.”

“You see anything out of the norm when you were here yesterday?”

”No. Everything was fine.” I start to pace the length of her king size bed. Not knowing what to do next.

“Princess everything will be okay. Don’t worry.”, sensing my anxiousness.

He didn’t know that but I didn’t say this out loud.

And as if it was an afterthought on his way out of the room. He turned back and said, “We’re on lockdown until the village is searched entirely. If you need to go out, you’ll have to take the royal gaurd with you. But that’s only after I secure Orchid. I’ll let you know as soon as that’s through.”

I sat on the end of the bed that still had her all over it. I fought back tears as I sent a silent prayer to the Gods and the elders to protect her and keep her safe. Seathras was standing in the doorway when I looked up. She sat next to me on the bed and put her arm over my shoulder and embraced me. It was a little arkward at first but then I relaxed and just let her hug me. It felt nice and genuine. I know we haven’t always gotten along but I knew in this moment she was just being kind to me. She loves the queen as much as I do. She practically raised her after her mother, my aunt who is also the queens sister, abandoned her. In this moment it felt like how it was when we were younger before all the grownup drama got in between us.

This was just a brief pause on the worst day of my life thus far. This was the beginning of the day that would change me forever. But in order for you to understand today, we’ve got to go back to before.

SIX YEARS BEFORE

Orchid exists in one possible reality on Earth not far from the White Quartz mountains. The village is known for its Orchids, hence how it got its name. Here, orchids of all different hues and sizes bloom all year round. My favorites are the turquoise and violet ones right outside my bedroom window, above the surface and below. Its inhabitants are as beautiful, expressive and unique as the orchids that litter every inch of the village. We’re a village of creatures that most humans don’t know exist. From fairies, mermaids and smurfs to shape shifters and a new addition of doll people called dollsians. Orchid also has one human resident, a light worker who was rescued from wolves in the forest by my father Delvin Kleonitus who was a human too.

My name is Tormalena Zallus but everyone except my mother the queen and immediate family call me Princess. I was born under a November moon on a tumultuous rainy night sixteen years ago. I’m mixed human from my father and mermaid from my mother. Although Orchid is known for its beautiful and exotic mermaid residents. We are very rare even in a village like this. There’s only one other mermaid human mix and she’s my cousin. Unlike other mermaids, we can switch at will into our mermaid form. This allows us to live in the human world without detection more easily. A gift I attribute to our mixed lineage. Even though not all human mermaid mixes possess this trait or so I’ve heard.

When in my mermaid form, my tail is the color of onyx, shimmering with silver iridescence. The softest silver and black scales cover my petite breast and trail down my sides. My skin looks like it was dipped in the shiniest cocoa, so smoothly gracing my five foot three delicate frame. My skin is also an exact match to my large, almond shaped eyes. Except that the outer rim of my irises turn silver in mermaid form. My crown of waist length, wavy black locs are adorned with the tiniest silver hoops, black diamonds and seashells, the color of pearl and turquoise. My extremely obvious beauty brought many suitors from all walks of life. From farmers, dignitaries, tycoons and kings, they all came and went. Some quicker than others but Queen Opal sent them all away, until this year. It was the first year I sent someone away. She said I was old enough and extremely intelligent to make those decisions for myself.

My land home is Mount Sirena, a huge eighteen room castle on the uppermost hill in Orchid. My room is in the center of Mount Sirenas where all the royal quarters are. Seathras my older cousin has the room adjacent to mines and the queens suite is in the next hallway all the way at the end. My father never stayed in the castle, always preferring to live a more rustic life out in the wilderness alone in his cabin. The staff quarters were on the ground floor along with the guard quarters.

My water home is a one room seashell about the size of a small bedrooom. It’s the color of pearlized stone with flakes of gold throughout. In my water home I feel as true to myself as can be. My mother allows me to stay in my water home as much as I want during the day but I am to always return to the castle before nightfall.

On this day, there was a rare eclipse called the Starfire Eclipse. Every mythical creature you can think of was out an about setting out picnic blankets and positioning for spots all over the village to watch the eclipse. There would be a parade after the eclipse at two o’clock. All of Orchid participated in the festivities. Seathras and two of my close friends, Thyst who was a fairy and Miza who was a mermaid sat on blankets right off of the river bank. We laughed, sang and ate too many sweets while we waited.

Seathras was a year older than me and was boy crazy. She and Miza spent most of our waiting, spying for eye candy specimens to lust over. When they caught some young villagers attention they would flirt until the young man would come over to talk. Miza went to dance with a dollsain with amazing green eyes and caramel skin, after he came over and asked. No one came and asked us to dance though, most eyes were on us being a part of the royal family and all. It was fear or respect that kept them away, most suitors went through official channels at the castle or through their parents. Lots of families thought of ways of getting into the royal family and there wasn’t a faster way of doing that then by marriage. Seathras would speak of this constantly saying that she never wanted to marry. She just wanted to have fun with as many lovers as she could.

As I take in all of my fellow villagers. The sounds of laughter and singing merging in with the scents of cooked meats and bonfires starting to populate. When I recover my thoughts, I’m overcome with an overpowering feeling of being watched. It sent chills running down my arms and up my back. I scan the crowd of people not looking for anything in particular. Then I see it and our eyes meet. Two bright glowing red eyes off in the distance at the edge of the tree line. I’m locked in, I can’t look away, I’m frozen in place. I can hear Seathras say something but it’s muddled like she’s underwater.